TheVRL News Brief

Days after its new RT24-P Daytona Prototype international completed its latest test at Road Atlanta, members of Mazda's IMSA program have flown west to Japan for a special celebration of the past and present.
"Mazda Fan Festa 2016 in Okayama" has brought together one of the brand's newly retired Mazda Prototypes from the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, its Le Mans-winning 1991 787B, Global MX-5 Cup cars, and a wide assortment of Mazda race cars at the Okayama circuit for demonstration runs.

Porsche wasn't always a major automotive manufacturer. Sure, the German manufacturer has made some of the best cars in the world, but in the mid-1970s, sales of the flagship 911 had started to slow. The publication of Ralph Nader's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," also threatened the future of the rear-engined sports car. The book questioned the safety of the rear-engined Chevrolet Corvair, and many in the automotive industry thought the layout itself could be banned.

The Ferrari LaFerrari is already one of the most extreme, high-performance, road-going cars ever built. And now, it's also the most expensive modern car ever sold at auction.
Ferrari, along with RM Sotheby's and the National Italian American Foundation's Earthquake Relief Fund, officially sold the car as part of a charity auction benefiting the reconstruction efforts in central Italy. Total price? A whopping $7 million. Ferrari claims its extra LaFerrari — the company originally built this 500th example for its own collection — is the most expensive car from the 21st century ever sold at auction.

A high-speed celebration of Sebring International Raceway's rich auto racing and aviation history came to a close Dec. 4 when five Historic Sportscar Racing Classic 12 Hour at Sebring Run Group Champions were crowned after three days of close and competitive racing.
Officially named the Classic 12 Hour at Sebring, Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network and Classic Motorsports, this weekend's inaugural event paid tribute to the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring auto race and historic Hendricks Field, the iconic military and civil aviation facility on which the race will be run for the 65th time next March.

Rosberg, who claimed his first Formula One drivers' title in Abu Dhabi Nov. 27, has said that the 2016 season would be his last in F1. The German-born Mercedes driver wants to spend more time with his family.